Video: State Leaders Meet at MSU for 2014 Manufacturing Summit

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Industry leaders from across the state met in Starkville Wednesday for the 2014 Manufacturing Summit.

Business groups and state leaders discussed the industry’s future and how to capitalize on it’s current growth. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and TNorthern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert were just a few of the state leaders who met at the summit to focus on the future of Mississippi’s workforce.

The future seems bright for Mississippi workers.

“We’ve got a lot of advanced manufacturing in Mississippi. I think it is a great time for a young person to be graduating and have a chance to stay in Mississippi,” says First District Republican Congressman Alan Nunnelee.

Business and state leaders gathered at MSU’s Franklin Furniture Institute to discuss growth in manufacturing. Work force development and technical training will play a major role in bringing more jobs to Mississippi.

ICC also displayed a mobile unit to encourage students to explore the world of advanced manufacturing.

“We’ve seen positive growth in the number of dollars going to our community colleges and our universities. So that we can educate more kids because in the long run the key to bringing more and better paying jobs to our state is having a work force that can do those jobs,” Reeves said.

Manufacturing jobs pay 32 percewnt more in compensation than the rest of the work force. Guest speaker Jack McDougle, CEO of Blue Tre Strategies, says the entire country’s economic future will rely on manufacturing jobs.

“Manufacturing is more important to the economy than other industries are. For every dollar manufacturing generates, it creates $1.40 across the rest of the economy. So if you’re going to make an investment and you want to increase your return, it’s manufacturing,” McDougle said.

Reeves says the state will continue to make smart investments that benefit both workers and tax payers.

The summit was co-sponsored by the Mississippi Manufacturing Association and the American Home Furnishings Alliance.

MISSISSIPPI STATE PRESS RELEASE

The Magnolia State can better encourage capital investment through improved education, low taxes and balanced budgets, said Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves at Mississippi State’s Furniture Summit.
At the Wednesday [April 23] gathering, Reeves spent more than half his keynote speech emphasizing the importance of education at all levels: from kindergarten through 12th-grade, through community college and university, and as part of workforce skills enhancement.
“Our role, government’s role, is to create an environment which encourages those of you in private sector to invest capital and create jobs,” Reeves said. “We can do that through education, and we are working very hard … to make sure we create the environment where your business thrives,” he continued.
He stressed the importance of reforming Mississippi’s education system to attract the best teachers. Reeves listed recent education-focused reforms he considers successful: the new merit-pay system for teachers, a simplified school- and school districts-ranking system, consolidation of school districts and expanded opportunity for charter school development, among others.
“As leaders in our communities and leaders in our state, we need to talk about the value of education,” he said. “We’ve got to become more efficient to ensure we’re doing a good job of educating our kids.
“We need more high school graduates. We need more kids going to our community colleges and learning the skills that they can then provide for the workforce. Additionally, we need more college graduates in our state,” Reeves said. “Everybody in our state must value education.”
Reeves also stressed the importance of lightening the tax burden for Mississippi businesses to make them more competitive in the Southeast, throughout the U.S. and all over the world.
“We want to make sure every business correctly and lawfully pays its taxes, but not in a way that puts an undue burden on them,” he said.
Finally, using recurring revenues to pay recurring expenses is a critical part of maintaining a balanced budget without raising taxes, he said. Efficient spending of the resources already being acquired is very important.
The Furniture Summit is sponsored by MSU’s Franklin Furniture Institute, America Home Furnishing Alliance and Mississippi Manufacturers’ Association, as well as the MSU Extension Service and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center.